Industry Best Practice

Here is a directory of industry agencies, owners and clients that are working hard to support their working parents. If your company are doing great things to help your working mums and dads, please fill in this form and we’ll add your details to our website.

ADOPTING FLEXIBLE WORKING PRACTICES

Maxus

Offers both permanent and temporary flexible working hours

Ogilvy

Promote greater flexibility and encourage employees to work when and where they need to

Primesight

Flexible working policy allows parents to fit their childcare responsibilities such as school drop-off and pick-up or extra-curricular activities (for example) around their working week

Rufus Leonard

Offer home-working across the company & incorporate flexible working into staff job descriptions

Starcom MediaVest Group

Has accepted every single flexible-working request made

BTBT has seen major improvements through their roll out of flexible working practices:

Absenteeism reduced by 63%

Greater productivity in their flexible-working employees

Reduced carbon footprint

20% reduction in churn of flexible-working employees

Reduction in HR costs of approximately £3 million

Retention rate following maternity leave was 99% in 2012, saving BT an estimated £7.4 million a year

HSBC

Offer a number of flexible working options including guaranteeing part-time work for parents returning from maternity or paternity leave if they want it

Offer a part-time role equivalent to 2.5 days per week which can be split a number of ways to help balance family life

LINE MANAGER AND LEADERSHIP AWARENESS AND TRAINING

Channel 4

Offer coaching for pregnant employees before they go on maternity leave

Offer follow-up coaching sessions for women returning to work after their maternity leave.

Dentsu Aegis Network

Line managers of expectant parents offered coaching.

PrimesightCoaching and training for managers on:

Flexible working practices and the benefits for the employees, team and the company if used effectively

How to handle flexible working requests and appropriate conversations to have with pregnant employees

SapientNitro

Provide a robust framework to advise line managers when managing pregnant employees.

Produce a supplementary guide to highlight the key areas line managers need to consider when they have a pregnant employee in their team.

Starcom MediaVest Group

Hold regular catch-ups between pregnant employees and HR

Train line managers in appropriate maternity conversations

American Express

Provide training to all managers on how to manage flexible working requests

Encourage managers to consider what working arrangements are required for employees returning from maternity and adoption leave, moving the onus away from the employee to initiate a flexible working conversation with their leader

National Grid

Hold workshops for new and expectant dads & are building a company-wide network of dads

THE CHANGING ROLES OF PARENTS

Dentsu Aegis Network

Offers Company Enhanced Shared Parental Pay across all of it’s agencies in the UK.

Shared parental pay matched with maternity and adoption leave pay.

Offering anyone with a new child to take up to 20 weeks’ paid leave.

Expectant parents offered group coaching where they can prepare for leave and also prepare to return to work.

Up to 6 days paid emergency leave for parents in addition to annual leave

MediaCom

Match shared parental leave with maternity leave, also available for parents who both work at MediaCom

Primesight

Offer regular catch ups with expectant fathers to ensure they understand their legal rights and how the company can support them in their new role

SapientNitro

Are looking into expanding the existing “mum’s network” to include dads and others with caring responsibilities

Barclays

Have developed A ‘Stay in Touch’ app so employees and line managers can keep in touch during parental leave

Features include links to an HR Portal showing available support as well as relevant resources and information for both employee and line manager

Johnson & Johnson

Gives new parents an additional 7 (separate or consecutive) weeks of paid leave during the first year of the child’s birth or adoption

Provides concierge service for all employees (so that they can spend more time doing the things they love)

Virgin

Provides all employees with four or more years’ service with 100% of salary for 52 weeks parental leave

INTRODUCTION OF CULTURE-CHANGING INITIATIVES, COMMUNITIES AND ROLE MODELS

Maxus

Parent buddy scheme linking new parents to more experienced parents at Maxus for practical advice and support

MediaCom

Enable parents to open up conversations with their line managers about their life “blend” through the company’s “Open Blend Method” – a tool that encourages discussions about career development, areas of focus and interest

Mindshare

The CEO believes in bringing the whole person to work and is very honest about her responsibilities as a working Mum. She openly tells employees when she needs to leave to sort out home life

Primesight

Offer 2 return to work bonuses (after 3 months and 6 months of returning to work) for mothers returning to work after 26 weeks’ leave or more

The bonus is equivalent to 1 or 2 week’s salary depending on length of service

SapientNitro

Run a Mums Network which meets monthly for an informal lunch

Run a buddy system for mothers going on or returning from maternity leave, giving them an opportunity for additional support and advice from a working mother who has been through the process

Starcom MediaVest Group

Offer an eight-day Back to the Business Ship course for women who have been out of the media industry and want to return

HSBC

Run a 50/50 recruitment drive to increase the number of women moving into senior management roles

Provide a professional returners programme to support candidates for senior manager roles who have been away from the workplace, caring for children or other dependents

KPMG

Provide comfort rooms for staff who are pregnant or breastfeeding

Run seminars on parenting and first aid as well as coaching sessions

Have a one-stop family website

Have seen 90% of women return from maternity leave and 92% return after having a second baby. The company has also seen a trebling in flexible working requests from fathers